51吃瓜

My name is Bill Astore and I鈥檓 a card-carrying member of the military-industrial complex (MIC).

Sure, I hung up my military uniform for the last time in 2005. , I鈥檝e been writing articles for TomDispatch focused largely on critiquing that same MIC and America鈥檚 permanent war economy. I鈥檝e written against this country鈥檚 and wars in and , its weapons systems, and its of warriors and . Nevertheless, I remain a lieutenant colonel, if a retired one. I still have my military ID card, if only to get on bases, and I still tend to say 鈥渨e鈥� when I talk about my fellow soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen (and our 鈥済uardians,鈥� too, now that we have a Space Force).

So, when I talk to organizations that are antiwar, that seek to downsize, dismantle, or otherwise weaken the MIC, I鈥檓 upfront about my military biases even as I add my own voice to their critiques. Of course, you don鈥檛 have to be antiwar to be highly suspicious of the U.S. military. Senior leaders in 鈥渕y鈥� military have , whether in the Vietnam War era of the last century or in this one about 鈥減rogress鈥� in Iraq and Afghanistan, that you鈥檇 have to be asleep at the wheel or ignorant not to have suspected the official story.

Congress Gives the Nod to the Military-Industrial Complex

Yet I also urge antiwar forces to see more than mendacity or malice in 鈥渙ur鈥� military. It was retired general and then-President Dwight D. Eisenhower, after all, who first warned Americans of the profound dangers of the military-industrial complex in his . Not enough Americans heeded Ike鈥檚 warning then and, judging by our near-constant state of warfare since that time, not to speak of our ever-ballooning 鈥渄efense鈥� budgets, very few have heeded his warning to this day. How to explain that?

Well, give the MIC credit. Its tenacity has been amazing. You might compare it to an invasive weed, a parasitic cowbird (an image I鈥檝e ), or even a metastasizing cancer. As a weed, it鈥檚 choking democracy; as a cowbird, it鈥檚 gobbling up most of the 鈥渇ood鈥� (at least half of the federal discretionary budget) with no end in sight; as a cancer, it continues to spread, weakening our individual freedoms and liberty. 

Call it what you will. The question is: How do we stop it? I鈥檝e offered suggestions in the past; so, too, have writers for TomDispatch like retired Army Colonel and retired Army Major , as well as , , and among others. Despite our critiques, the MIC grows ever stronger. If Ike鈥檚 warning wasn鈥檛 eye-opening enough, enhanced by an even more powerful speech, 鈥�,鈥� by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967, what could I and my fellow TomDispatch writers possibly say or do to make a difference?

Maybe nothing, but that won鈥檛 stop me from trying. Since I am the MIC, so to speak, maybe I can look within for a few lessons that came to me the hard way (in the sense that I had to live them). So, what have I learned of value?

War Racketeers Enjoy Their Racket

In the 1930s, Smedley Butler, a Marine general twice decorated with the Medal of Honor, wrote a book entitled . He knew better than most since, as he in that volume, when he wore a military uniform, he served as 鈥渁 racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.鈥� And the corporate-driven racket he helped enable almost a century ago by busting heads from the Caribbean to China was small-scale indeed compared to today鈥檚 thoroughly global one.

The New Cold War鈥檚 Thriving Arms Race

There鈥檚 an obvious lesson to be drawn from its striking endurance, never-ending enlargement, and distinct engorgement in our moment (even after all those lost wars it fought): the system will not reform itself.  It will always demand and take more 鈥� more money, more authority, more power.  It will never be geared for peace.  By its nature, it鈥檚 authoritarian and distinctly less than honorable, replacing patriotism with service loyalty and victory with triumphant budgetary authority.  And it always favors the darkest of scenarios, including at present a with China and Russia, because that鈥檚 the best and most expedient way for it to thrive.

Within the military-industrial complex, there are no incentives to do the right thing.  Those few who have a conscience and speak out honorably are punished, including truth-tellers in the enlisted ranks like and . Even being an officer doesn鈥檛 make you immune.  For his temerity in resisting the Vietnam War, , a retired Marine Corps general and Medal of Honor recipient, was typically dismissed by his peers as unbalanced and of questionable sanity.

For all the talk of 鈥渕avericks,鈥� whether in Top Gun or elsewhere, we 鈥� there鈥檚 that 鈥渨e鈥� again (I can鈥檛 help myself!) 鈥� in the military are a hotbed of go-along-to-get-along conformity.

Recently, I was talking with a senior enlisted colleague about why so few top-ranking officers are willing to speak truth to the powerless (that鈥檚 you and me) even after they retire. He mentioned credibility. To question the system, to criticize it, to air dirty laundry in public is to risk losing credibility within the club and so to be rejected as a malcontent, disloyal, or even 鈥渦nbalanced.鈥� Then, of course, that infamous between the military and giant weapons makers like Boeing and Raytheon simply won鈥檛 spin for you.  Seven-figure compensation packages, like the one current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin gained from after his retirement as an Army general, won鈥檛 be an option. And in America, who doesn鈥檛 want to cash in while gaining more power within the system?

Quite simply, it pays so much better to mouth untruths, or at least distinctly less-than-full-truths, in service to the powerful. And with that in mind, here, at least as I see it, are a few full truths about my old service, the Air Force, that I guarantee you I won鈥檛 be applauded for mentioning. How about this as a start: that the production of F-35s 鈥� an overpriced 鈥淔errari鈥� of a fighter jet that鈥檚 both too complex and remarkably successful as an 鈥� should be canceled (savings: as much as $1 trillion over time); that the much-touted new isn鈥檛 needed (savings: at least $200 billion) and neither is the new (savings: another $200 billion and possibly the entire Earth from doomsday); that the KC-46 tanker is seriously and should be canceled (savings: another $50 billion). 

Who Will Stand Up to the US Military?

Now, tote it up. By canceling the F-35, the B-21, the Sentinel, and the KC-46, I singlehandedly saved the American taxpayer roughly $1.5 trillion without hurting America鈥檚 national defense in the least. But I鈥檝e also just lost all credibility (assuming I had any left) with my old service.

Look, what matters to the military-industrial complex isn鈥檛 either the truth or saving your taxpayer dollars but keeping those weapons programs going and the money flowing. What matters, above all, is keeping America鈥檚 economy on a permanent wartime footing both by buying endless new (and old) weapons systems for the military and in a bizarrely Orwellian pursuit of peace through war. 

How are Americans, Ike鈥檚 鈥渁lert and knowledgeable citizenry,鈥� supposed to end a racket like this? We certainly should know one thing by now: the MIC will never check itself and Congress, already part of it thanks to impressive campaign donations and the like by major weapons makers, won鈥檛 corral it either.  Indeed, last year, Congress shoveled more than the Biden administration requested (more even than the Pentagon asked for) to that complex, all ostensibly in your name. Who cares that it hasn鈥檛 won a war of the faintest significance since 1945. Even 鈥渧ictory鈥� in the Cold War (after the Soviet Union imploded in 1991) was thrown away. And now the complex warns us of an onrushing 鈥渘ew cold war鈥� to be waged, naturally, at tremendous cost to you, the American taxpayer.  

As citizens, we must be informed, willing, and able to act. And that鈥檚 precisely why the complex seeks to deny you knowledge, precisely why it seeks from its actions in this world. So, it鈥檚 up to you 鈥� to us! 鈥� to remain alert and involved. Most of all, each of us must struggle to keep our identity and autonomy as a citizen, a rank higher than that of any general or admiral, for, as we all need to be reminded, those wearing uniforms are supposed to serve you, not vice-versa.

I know you hear otherwise. You鈥檝e been told repeatedly in these years that it鈥檚 your job to 鈥渟upport our troops.鈥� Yet, in truth, those troops should only exist to support and defend you, and of course the Constitution, the compact that binds us all together as a nation.

When misguided citizens genuflect before those troops (and then ignore everything that鈥檚 done in their name), I鈥檓 reminded yet again of Ike鈥檚 sage warning that only Americans can truly hurt this country. Military service may be necessary, but it鈥檚 not necessarily . America鈥檚 founders were profoundly skeptical of large militaries, of entangling alliances with foreign powers, and of permanent wars and threats of the same. So should we all be.

Citizens United Is the Answer

No, not that 鈥�,鈥� not the case in which the Supreme Court decided corporations had the same free speech rights as you and me, allowing them to co-opt the legislative process by drowning us out with massive amounts of 鈥渟peech,鈥� aka dark-money-driven propaganda. We need citizens united against America鈥檚 war machine.

Understanding how that machine works 鈥� not just its waste and corruption, but also its positive attributes 鈥� is the best way to wrestle it down, to make it submit to the people鈥檚 will. Yet activists are sometimes ignorant of the most basic facts about 鈥渢heir鈥� military. So what? Does the difference between a sergeant major and a major, or a chief petty officer and the chief of naval operations matter? The answer is: yes.

An anti-military approach anchored in ignorance won鈥檛 resonate with the American people. An antiwar message anchored in knowledge could, however. It鈥檚 important, that is, to hit the proverbial nail on the head. Look, for example, at the traction Donald Trump gained in the presidential race of 2015-2016 when he did something few other politicians then dared do: dismiss the Iraq War as wasteful and stupid. His election win in 2016 was not primarily about racism, nor the result of a nefarious Russian plot. Trump won, at least in part because, despite his ignorance on so many other things, he spoke a fundamental truth 鈥� that America鈥檚 wars of this century were horrendous blunders.

Trump, of course, was anything but anti-military. He of military parades in Washington, D.C. But I (grudgingly) give him credit for boasting that he than his generals and by that I mean many more Americans need to challenge those in authority, especially those in uniform.

Yet challenging them is just a start. The only real way to wrestle the military-industrial complex to the ground is to cut its funding in half, whether gradually over years or in one fell swoop. Yes, indeed, it鈥檚 the understatement of the century to note how much easier that鈥檚 said than done. It鈥檚 not like any of us could wave a military swagger stick like a magic wand and make half the Pentagon budget disappear. But consider this: If I could do so, that military budget would still be roughly $430 billion, easily more than China鈥檚 and Russia鈥檚 combined, and more than seven times what this country spends on the State Department. As usual, you get what you pay for, which for America has meant more weapons and disastrous wars.

Has the US Always Been at War?

Join me in imagining the (almost) inconceivable 鈥� a Pentagon budget cut in half. Yes, generals and admirals would scream and Congress would squeal. But it would truly matter because, as a retired Army major general once told me, major budget cuts would force the Pentagon to think 鈥� for once. With any luck, a few sane and patriotic officers would emerge to place the defense of America first, meaning that hubristic imperial designs and forever wars would truly be reined in because there鈥檇 simply be no more money for them.

Currently, Americans are giving the Pentagon all it wants 鈥� plus some. And how鈥檚 that been working out for the rest of us? Isn鈥檛 it finally time for us to exercise real oversight, as Ike challenged us to do in 1961? Isn鈥檛 it time to force the Pentagon to pass an audit each year 鈥� it鈥檚 failed ! 鈥� or else cut its budget even more deeply? Isn鈥檛 it time to hold Congress truly responsible for enabling ever more war by voting out military sycophants? Isn鈥檛 it time to recognize, as , that sustaining a vast military establishment constitutes the slow and certain death of democracy?

Just remember one thing: the military-industrial complex won鈥檛 reform itself. It just might have no choice, however, but to respond to our demands, if we as citizens remain alert, knowledgeable, determined, and united. And if it should refuse to, if the MIC can鈥檛 be tamed, whether because of its strength or our weakness, you will know beyond doubt that this country has truly lost its way. [ first published this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.